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ceriphea · 8 months

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A Starry Night

Summary: A perfectly clear night left you to reminisce your time with Astarion. Allowing him to explore his own boundaries, he's finally made the plans to spend a night full of pleasure and joy out of his own free will with you.

Pairing: Astarion x Fem!Tav(Reader)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Smut, little plot, oral sex, graphic language

Words: 4065

Additional: I may have just created a whole new side tumblr and satisfied my urge to write this down despite not long ago saying I wouldn't be writing anymore. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the read! I aimed to keep from descriptions of Tav so you could picture your own as best as possible. :)

Read on Ao3

The night was quiet. Much quieter than usual. Quieter anyway since Lae’zel and Shadowheart decided to put peace on their bickering and allow another to live in each other’s presence. Most of the camp had been resting as it was your turn to keep watch for the night.

Not that there was much to look out for. If you don’t count random appearances of Mizora or vampire spawns. Most nights went by peacefully at this point. The only thing possibly interrupting a good night's rest were dunkards stumbling by the little camp your group had settled down in.

Your eyes were settled on the sky, clear as ever. Every single star was visible to your eyes and it brought a small smile across your lips. It reminded you of your first night with Astarion.

The two of you had started out as a fling. Something to make your situation a little more passable. After all, who didn’t enjoy good sex? However as time progressed and the more nights the two of you had spent together, the more the simple fun of having sex turned into feelings for another. It came easier for you than for the vampire.

Astarion was troubled, damaged from the years of torture and pain he had endured. The closer you became, the more you learned about his trauma. And that was how you learned that Astarion had not enjoyed himself during sex for a long time. Your initial reaction was hurt. Mainly because of your own trauma that you carry with yourself as well as the fact that you’d like to think you’d do well enough to please your partners. Though after the initial reaction you understood. For him sex had always been a technique for his victims. A mere measure to bait people into aiding to his will. And he did in fact enjoy what you two had just the drive was not what it was meant to be.

It was then, when you established your relationship with Astarion, showing him you cared about him beyond sex, that you told Astarion you wouldn’t have sex until he felt ready for enjoying it for the act that it is between two people that like each other. Not because he felt like he needed to just for the sake of it. To get an advantage out of it.

There were many times he had tried getting it on with you when you offered him your neck. He tried because he felt like he owed you for allowing him to drink off of you. However each time you turned him down for him to underline your point and make him understand he didn’t need to do something just to pay you back. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to have sex with him, you loved having him since he had been your best partner. You just wanted him to stop feeling like he was forced to have sex with no real meaning to him.

He understood after a while and now it had been a good amount of time since the last time you slept together. You couldn’t even recall how long exactly. Not that your mind was allowed to drift any further as the elf in question settled down to sit beside you.

“Pardon me, my love but I felt like my presence was required here,” Astarion said playfully, his red orbs gazing at you intently. Some of your thoughts must have slipped through to him thanks to that worm inside of your head. There was never any telling which thoughts you’d get to keep to yourself and which would be transferred over your illithid connection.

“Oh, did you now?” you inquired with a quirked brow aimed at him, trying to play it off like you haven’t been thinking all about him.

“Your thoughts are louder than you think, darling. It’s a surprise you haven’t woken up anyone else. Or perhaps they are now having sweet dreams about me,” he shrugged with a smirk, not once did his eyes leave yours. A slight blush crept upon your cheeks, fearing he heard more than you had expected. Not that it was anything to be ashamed of really but still, sometimes you liked to keep your thoughts to yourself.

“You wish,” scoffing, you rolled your eyes and let your eyes drift back to the sky again. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Astarion standing back up, his hand coming into your sight, an offer to help you up. “Come, I’d like to show you something.”

Once again your eyes met his before darting to his hand and back to his eyes. You were meant to keep watch and not exactly meant to go away from your post. And if you went with Astarion it could range anything from a few minutes to hours. As if he read your mind once again, the pale elf clicked his tongue and almost pushed his hand into your face.

“Come, no one is going to die. We’ll only be gone… shortly.” You knew he was full of shit but there was nothing else you could say against him. Finally placing your hand in his, Astarion pulled you to your feet. Instead of letting you go however, he pulled you in flush against him and pressed a peck to your lips. “There you go, now come on.”

Letting go of your hand, the vampire then started leading the way away from camp. It wasn’t exactly far but far enough to barely see the campfire flickering. The air here was slightly clearer, the streets now empty. It was rather late at night, anyone awake at this time was either at a tavern or in their homes.

“So where exactly are you taking me?” you asked, following your lover along. “If I tell you that would ruin the surprise. Now shush, we’re almost there.” A low chuckle escaped his throat. It was not exactly strange for him to have this sort of behavior, however something about him on this particular night just told you that he had something up his sleeve.

A minute or two later the two of you had arrived at a house, empty by the looks of it but kept well in shape. Astarions slight fingers worked on the lock before opening up the door and inviting you in as if it was his very own house. Did you just let him break into a random home without any complaint? Yes, you did. In many views the two of you had shared your perspectives and breaking into places was a common ground. Whether the group needed loot or your information was in it.

You figured that Astarion perhaps found some hidden treasure in here and wanted to reserve it for just you and him. It wouldn’t be the first time he had chosen to keep some valuables from the group in order to fend for you and him. But once you had entered the house, the elf swiftly moved behind you and chose to cover your eyes with his hands. You could feel his mouth near your ear by his warm breath first before he whispered, “Now walk as I tell you and keep those pretty eyes closed until I tell you to open them.”

Something about the way he spoke sent a tingle through your stomach and into your core. Perhaps it was a bit of deprivation of intimacy that made any sensual act like this even more exciting to you.

You trusted him with every single step, letting him guide you through the house that couldn’t be any quieter. Standing still for a moment, you heard him opening another door before your path continued shortly before you came to a final stop. “Open your eyes, my love,” his last words drew out in a seductive tone while his hands removed from your eyes. Opening them, you blinked a few times to adjust to the lighting in the room which was merely the night sky and the moon shining in through a wide set of windows.

Before you displayed a master bedroom, decorated neatly with a bed bigger than you’ve seen in the past few years of your adventures. This wasn’t just some treasure he had found, this was more. And the thought of it alone sent a contraction of urgency through your core, leaving a damp feeling in your pants. Oh, how weak you were. You didn’t dare speak, still taking in the room as Astarion came into view, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

“What do you think, dear?” his voice was merely above a whisper while his eyes burned into yours. Slowly Astarion inched closer, close enough to wrap one of his arms around your lower back, pulling you flush against his chest. Even if you wouldn’t say anything, your hardened nipples pressing through your thin linen shirt against his chest would tell him everything.

“Who have you bribed to get in here?” you teased, not wanting to give into him too quickly. He knew how much you wanted him, you didn’t need to tell him.

“There was this drunk dwarf tumbling through the streets. I may have convinced him that this is in fact not his home. And by the looks of it, it may very well not be. Not for tonight anyway,” of course Astarion had to respond in a snarky manner just before his voice turned seductive again. You knew where this was going. And this time around, you weren’t going to stop him. All his last attempts had been whenever it wasn’t really convenient, mostly out in the open. This time he had taken the effort to find a nice and comfortable bed, a place of warmth.

“But you and I both know we aren’t here to talk about such unimportant matters. Rather we are here because I want to devour you,” he started, his voice dangerously low while his eyes darkened in desire, “I want to love on you. Every single inch of you.”

He had barely touched you and yet your cunt was getting drenched in arousal by the second. It had been a while since Astarion voiced his desires for you in this way and oh, it was a turn on. The room immediately felt a dozen degrees hotter as your lips crashed against Astarions, moving in a passionate pattern while his hand that was initially resting along your waist from being wrapped around you, moved down to cup your ass. One of your hands slid up his chest and further up until it was settled on the back of his head, grasping a handful of his hair while the vampire deepened the kiss. A small moan escaped your lips when the hand on your ass gave you a firm squeeze. You were almost sure that were his fingers to wander further inward and to your core, he could feel your wetness through your linen pants.

Though instead of wandering to your core, his hand wandered to the back of your thigh, his other hand joining on the other thigh before he picked you up. Both your legs immediately wrapped around his waist. Within a few quick strides Astarion carried you over to the bed and more or less dropped you onto the soft sheets.

Once more your lips met in a matter of passion and lust while the vampires hands now made their way to explore your body, tugging at your shirt in order to remove your clothing from your body. You were just about to interrupt the kiss and stop his wandering hands for a moment in order to ask him if he was certain this was what he wanted. That’s when your tadpoles connected and he let you know that this was something he wanted out of his own free will. Something he wanted to enjoy.

And therefore you only deepened the kiss, allowing your own hands to wander his body now, tugging at his very own shirt and pulling it over his head. Astarion used that moment to remove your shirt as well just before his mouth latched back onto you. This time however his lips met your collarbone, actively leaving out your neck. He did his best kissing your skin and nibbling at you without letting his teeth graze your skin. Your eyes closed as the vampire moved to devour you just as he had announced before.

Starting at your collarbone, his lips traveled down towards your breasts. While his hands cupped your round mounds, his tongue darted out tracing a wet line from the top of your breast to your hardened nipple and around it before his lips closed down on the sensitive nub providing it with a short sense of suction before letting his normal teeth tease for a moment. Then he moved on to do the exact same thing to your other breast. You couldn’t help but moan in pleasure, indecisive whether you wanted to close your eyes and simply enjoy the feeling or whether you wanted to watch him with his intense stare on you, aching to give you the pleasure he feels you deserve.

The choice came easy as your eyes automatically closed the second his lips started traveling further south past your navel and to the hem of your pants. Elegant fingers slipped right beneath the hem, taking your underwear with them as Astarion removed your pants in one go, leaving you entirely bare in front of him.

Only now that a slight breeze of air met your core, you realized just how wet you were. It was a surprise you hadn’t completely drenched your pants between your legs. Taking one of your ankles in hand, Astarion began peppering kisses all along the inside of your leg, positioning your leg angled on the bed and letting his lips travel until he almost met your core. Then he moved onto the other leg, once again mirroring the exact same motions which now had you with your legs spread and Astarions head lingering right in front of your raging hot core. “I want you to look at me while I feast on that delicious cunt of yours,” his voice was even lower now, arousal and hunger clouding his own senses while his hot breath fanned against your wetness. Just as he ordered you opened your eyes and glanced down at the elf between your legs. He looked like he had been starving for weeks and had the first real meal in front of him. And just like that he settled in and wrapped his arms around your thighs to hold you in place as his tongue darted out between your folds, licking a long stripe up to your pulsating clit.

Once there his tongue ran slow circles around it. Once, twice and then his lips closed around the sensitive nub. He varied the pressure of his suction, earning several moans from you while it became increasingly more difficult not to roll your eyes into the back of your head and crumble under the pleasure you were feeling. Eventually he released your clit only to drag his tongue back through your folds, working you in all your favorite patterns. It didn’t take particularly long until you could feel your orgasm building up, blame it on the amount of time it had been since the two of you had sex.

Astarion could tell you were getting close, his thumb finding your clit to rub circles on it while his tongue kept swirling around your folds as well as penetrating your core to pleasure those sweet spots inside of you. Without warning your vision blurred while your insides contracted, attempting to clench around a cock yet being left empty while your orgasm rushed through you.

The vampire consumed every drop of your cum, working you through your orgasm until your hips stopped twitching. Your chest was heaving from your previous release, eyes once again meeting Astarion when he slowly withdrew himself from you if only to get rid of the rest of his clothing. His erection was standing tall and proud, precum smeared all across his tip. You licked your lips at the view. He moved in closer until he was leaning above you, almost getting into position. However you wanted to return the favor as much as you were dying to feel him inside of you. Your first thought was to just toss him over and take the upper hand, however this was all about giving him the choice. So you opted to give him the choice once more.

Before he had lined himself up at your entrance, you covered yourself with a hand and gazed straight into his eyes as he met yours with confusion. “May I suck you off?”

To others it may have seemed like a stupid thing to ask, however you wanted him to know he had all the freedom in the world to choose what he wanted. Astarion remained confused for a second or two more before capturing himself and nodding. “Of course darling, I’d love nothing more than to feel those sweet and luscious lips around my cock.”

His voice was almost like a purr as he removed himself from above you and settled down on the bed, leaned up against the headpost while you scrambled up to position yourself between his legs. Your core was still pulsating from your release or was it the need of being filled by that long and thick shaft that stood tall and proud in front of your face?

One soft hand wrapped around his shaft, giving it a pump or two as your lips traced kisses along his thighs until they settled at his balls, traveling up the length of him slowly until you reached his tip. Your hand settled at the base of his shaft, holding him in place now while your tongue slowly swirled around his tip, earning low moans from the vampire. You could tell he was less used to this sort of act as his eyes darted between arousal and uncertainty. With help of your tadpole you let him know that he was allowed to stop you whenever he felt like he needed to.

Your lips wrapped around his tip all the while your tongue still swirled around him. Keeping the pace slow, you slowly started taking him more into your mouth, relaxing your throat in order to take him as much as your body would allow. His breath hitched within his throat, chest heaving with pleasure while his eyes never left yours. Picking up the pace, your head started bobbing along his length, using the hand at the base of his cock to stroke whatever you couldn’t fit into your mouth.

It wasn’t long however until Astarion gently pulled you off of his cock by your hair. His eyes had an apologetic touch within them before he spoke. “I need to have you, my love,” he spoke in an urgency. You understood and you wanted him to be in full control. “And I need you,” you responded with a gentle smile as you leaned up to capture his lips with yours. Your release still lingered on his lips, shooting another wave of heat right through to your core.

Astarion didn’t waste time deepening the kiss, easily spinning the two of you around in order to have you pinned beneath him again. With ease he settled between your legs, allowing his length to slide along your wetness a couple of times before reaching between you in order to line himself up with your entrance.

With one long push the vampire filled you with his entire length, stretching your insides deliciously. A gasp left your mouth at the fullness you had missed all this time. Astarion couldn’t keep himself from letting out a shaky breath either. He remained still within you for a moment or two, simply relishing in the feeling of your insides contracting around him over and over as your insides adjusted to the feeling of him inside of you.

“Please, fuck me…” you whispered against his lips, unable to take the stillness of him inside you any longer. Without any further notice, he withdrew himself almost entirely from you only to slide his entire length into you again. He kept on repeating the motion until he had picked up a moderate pace, each thrust earning a moan from you. You could tell it was different. Astarion had always been a rough lover. Fast and hard thrusts were his thing. Just a small glimpse at his face told you the whole story. Of how he was taking it slow in order to find his pleasure, his desire for this. His lips were kissing along your collarbone again, moving up to your neck until he hesitated.

Noticing the hesitation, your hand came up to the back of his head, bringing him in closer to your neck. You knew exactly what he was getting at. Or why he was hesitating. “Do it,” you moaned softly with his next thrust and that was all the confirmation he needed. His teeth immediately dug into the soft skin of your neck, the stinging pain feeling yet so pleasurable.

As he was drinking from you, Astarion had picked up his pace, his thrusts becoming rougher and quicker. At this point he barely pulled even halfway out before his cock slammed back into you, brushing past all the good spots. Your moans picked up in volume, the mixed feeling of your cunt being pounded while your neck was being fed on combined an amount of pleasure you couldn’t even describe.

Astarion felt it too, the pleasure of the entire situation, how tasting your blood made his cock turn indefinitely harder, how your cunt clenched and your thighs quivered with each of his thrusts. And he knew that all of this was because he wanted it. Not because he had to gain advantage for something or to manipulate someone. He released your throat for a moment, the blood running down your neck and dripping onto the pillow beneath you, if only to moan out your name, “Tav..” he grunted, knowing his release was near. Slyly lifting your legs a little over his waist, you caused his cock to change the angle within you, brushing right past your g-spot and close to hitting your cervix with every thrust.

“Astarion..” you moaned in return, feeling your own release coming in closer. His head lifted from your neck, wanting to see your face and he hooked his arms underneath your knees and essentially lifted you up higher as his hips pounded against you. The sound of skin slapping against skin as well as both of your moans echoed throughout the room. It only took one more thrust and you were sent over the edge. Your thighs quivered against his hold, hips twitching and insides clenching wildly as your second orgasm of the night rushed through you. It felt like you lost control over your body as you were not able to control a single movement.

Seeing your pleasure filled self, Astarion pushed himself deep inside of you, his body coming to rest flush against you as his release emptied all the way inside you, his own hips stuttering with just how much he came.

Once he emptied himself entirely and both your bodies calmed from the intensity of your orgasms, he pulled his member out and settled on the non-bloody side of the bed, pulling you into his tight embrace.

“That was marvelous, darling…” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of your head, not minding the blood remaining at the corners of his mouth. “Thank you.”

His voice was sincere and you knew this was it. He found his control. His own will. The one thing you had been working on with him. “Not for this, my beloved.” You countered softly, finding his lips for a kiss. You stopped caring for the taste of blood a long time ago.

The two of you had laid together, calming from your highs for a while longer. However this was not the end of the night just yet. You lost count of just how many times the two of you had sex that night. All you knew was that your shift of staying guard for the camp was long forgotten.

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion x tav #astarion x you #astarion x reader #astarion x female reader #astarion x fem!tav #fanfic #fanfiction

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ladiemars · 25 days

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I love Nor and her giant sad puppy eyes, I would love to know more about her

thank you!! have a hastily drawn nor ft. her giant sad sopping wet puppy eyes:

+ a giant nor lore dump below the cut જ⁀➴

➸ her whole character was inspired by that one textpost that’s like, “characters with both the abject terror and desperation of an animal that knows it is cornered and destined to be eaten. you just can't get that kind of angst out a successful hunter” and this quote by james harriet: “if having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”

➸ she’s is the product of a union between a drow woman and a deep imaskari man. for those who don’t know, the deep imaskari are a human subrace (from 3e) that have stone-like skin and hair that’s white or black. because that’s nor’s human half, most people assume she’s completely drow upon meeting her, since did not inherit any features from her father that would make her look less like her drow mother.

➸ the deep imaskari live longer than other humans—up to 550 years—so nor ages at a rate more akin to drow and elves than half-elves or humans. nor believes she’s currently around seventy years old, though she could be off by a decade or two. she’s not sure when she was born and has long periods without human contact. she really isn’t sure how much time has passed.

➸ she has no given name, but eventually ended up going by the name ratcatcher, which is what the locals in baldur’s gate called her. halsin is the one who names her nor shortly after they meet, which is the elven word for “passion” and also “run.”

➸ this excerpt from one of my fics sums up her urchin/orphan to urban ranger/beastmaster pipeline pretty well:

➸ around the age of twenty, nor grew to resent humanity so much that she decided to leave baldur’s gate and live in the forest with only animals for company for half a century. (this is when she lost track of time completely.) in the forest, she became an expert in survival, attuning her ears to the slightest twitch in the air, to every noise and smell. she lived in a cave and slept curled up beside velvet on a bed of willow leaves. the events of baldur’s gate 3 is the first time in decades that she’s had social interaction.. and it shows.

➸ she has a little wolfdog companion named velvet. (i’ve drawn him and her and halsin and scratch here). he was another half-breed who didn’t quite being anywhere, so they bonded very deeply. (fun fact: velvet killed the elder brain in my first playthrough as nor. he’s a legend in faerun now.)

➸ laezel is her bestie. they are ride or die. neither of them understand a damn thing about faerun or its inhabitants. but that also means they don’t judge each other for anything, cause they both just kind of assume what the other is doing is normal

➸ a big part of her character is her dynamic with the emperor. she gets manipulated by him so bad because he tells her everything a forgotten, unloved creature wants to hear: i need you, i’ll protect you, you’re not like other people, we’re a team, you can trust me, i want you to join me, you aren’t alone. it’s not until he begins to pressure and compel her to become illithid against her will she starts to fear him and his power over her, and after certain revelations she realizes he was using her and turns on him altogether.

➸ obviously she romances halsin. i love the dynamic of beastmaster/druid. they’re extremely well suited because they’re both such inherently good people and they bond a lot over their love for nature. they are also the only two people who can really understand each other’s animalistic quirks.

i’ve written some fics with her that you can read here if you’re interested. >:3c

#nor #ratcatcher #baldur’s gate #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 oc #bg3 fanart #mars draws #asks #my art #baldur’s gate 3 #baldurs gate #dungeons and dragons #half drow #ranger tav

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mllemaenad · 8 months

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So ... the stuff with the Emperor. I am somewhat twitchy about designating a group of people as always evil, especially since the game has noted that several races "used to be" considered evil, but now are not. But I can see illithids always being ... antagonistic, as a group, at best. Because they eat people. And unless they can stop eating people, having an illithid friend is always going to be problematic, even if they have no actual plans for world domination.

There's Omeluum, in the underdark, and while I would not say I've interacted with it enough to confirm it is what it says it is, there - at least at face value - is a "good" mind flayer. It's still very much eating people, though. Researching ways to stop doing that, and good for it, but still eating people. Eating "bad" people, sure, but defining "bad" and when being eaten alive would be a reasonable punishment for that is a whole other damn issue.

But the story the Emperor told me isn't ... quite adding up for me. Or else the lore isn't adding up.

From the start of the game, I assumed illithid infection was a matter of incubation. That is, the tadpole in your brain was a person unto itself, and it was going to both feed on you and use your body as a kind of trellis to grow to maturity. In True Souls, the growth was arrested, so no mind flayer was actually erupting out of a body, and the tadpole was consuming little if any brain matter. In the case of your party, even its influence was limited by the presence of the artifact, which turned out to hold an imprisoned githyanki with super powers.

That matched nicely with the things Lae'zel said about infections, about them consuming everything you were, and with the symptoms of infection as described: fever, memory loss, delirium. It sounded as though a person was being eaten alive.

But then the Emperor turns up and claims to be an adventurer who was transformed. It claims to be the same person it was it was before the infection. If true, that would mean that illithids were only "evil" because they themselves were mind controlled. Without that, they'd just be people with unfortunate dietary needs. And, well, we're still hanging out with Astarion for some reason, so this party does not have reasonable grounds to complain about that.

And it could be true. Sure. What do I know about illithids? Lae'zel's information could be wrong. We do know at least some of what she knows is more githyanki propaganda than truth.

Except.

Well, for a starters Withers makes a whole speech about mind flayers not having souls. Now - I don't even believe in souls, so that's not something I'd even consider without being prompted by the narrative. In any fantasy setting where ghosts and souls are assumed to exist, I tend to equate soul with person. If someone is talking to me, they've got a soul. Illithids possibly being terrible people is irrelevant to that question.

Under other circumstances, I'd dismiss this as simple prejudice. But one, this does seem to be Withers' area of expertise and two, it's presented as a plot point: the gods should be attempting to gather souls, but they are not, they are gathering soulless mind flayers who ought to be useless to them. It's weird enough to be worthy of comment.

If the Emperor were a human or elf or whatever, and was transformed into a mind flayer, then it ought to have a soul. Because if there's continuity of personhood, it wouldn't make sense for it to not have a soul.

And then there's the windmill horror. I went the wrong way when doing a quest hunting for lost letters, because I missed that the guy said west and assumed the trail of blood I found was related to the dead pigeons. I followed it to a windmill, picked the lock and went snooping. Inside was a newborn mind flayer - and I could ask it if it had been the one screaming. Its response? No, those were the dying screams of its vessel. It actually delighted in the anguish and terror of the man it emerged from. This wasn't a distressed person who had just undergone an unexpected species change. This was a wholly new person, with little sympathy for its vessel.

So ... barring the arrival of any new evidence that makes the Emperor somehow exempt from this, it does not seem as though it could be who it says it is. I mean - it's entirely possible it incubated in an adventurer. That's as likely as anything else. But every piece of information I can find apart from its story indicates that that adventurer died screaming, and a long time ago.

Which in turn means that this story seems like just as much a masquerade as the business of dressing up as something from the character creator.

"Hey, one of your allies is a friendly illithid!" would not necessarily make me suspicious. I mean - we've got a mummy that raises our souls for pocket change, a priestess who came back from the dead, and very frank demi-goddess, so sure, why not?

But these repeated attempts to convince me that it is in some sense not really an illithid? When every indication is that it is? That I do not trust at all.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers

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bludermaus · 4 months

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Another Emperor Post for you all

First of all, just forgive me for not being good at elaboration my opinions, but here we go:

I think another reason people dislike The Emperor is because they have this incessant need to be friends with everybody if they're doing a "good run", and if you're not friendly to the player then you're deserving of no mercy, nuance and greyness be damned

We see that on how people shit on Wulbren. Like, I don't like the guy that much, but I can see the nuance of someone that was maybe a nice person and became so full of bitterness that they start lashing against others and going to extreme measures to do what they *think* is right. It's not elaborated why and we can speculate forever, but if you save Wulbren and Barcus is dead he's far far nicer to you, so people might be extra pissy about him just because Barcus is a sweetie, so by consequence Wulbren is the worst for not being nice to him

Another example is Lae'zel. I love her, but how many times have we seen people saying that they hate her or left her in the camp not bothering with learning about her because she's initially very standoffish? Just because she's not friendly enough, she's not hugging you from the get-go and saying niceties, not worshipping the ground you step on immediately? Sure, she can become friendly and even an actual friend to you later, but that's not supposed to be a requirement for someone to be liked

And then we have The Emperor. Manipulation and ommission of information is not a friendly thing to do, so automatically evil, how dare he! Except that... He's not your friend and he doesn't (initially) want to be, he's an ally by necessity (and let's be honest, every companion there is working together just by necessity. For example: Pre-tadpole Wyll and Astarion would probably have killed each other in different circumstances) and he's interested in your success in the mission, nothing more or less. And let's be honest, considering that he didn't even want to be in this situation in the first place, he's actually very friendly and nice to you, manipulations aside... Manipulations by the way to make you save the world/yourself, which you'd have wanted to do anyway he just helped point you in the right way and guide you to get there faster

But in the end you can genuinely have a friendship with him, it's just that people disregard his feelings because of some sort of idealized idea of friendship where you must be huggy huggy and message each other daily. I am great friends with someone with whom I haven't talked to in like 3-4 months... Does that mean we're not good friends? We don't message each other enough? To me The Emperor would be this kind of friend and that's okay, you'll visit him like once or twice a year, have some conversation and then leave, maybe write letters every now and then, you both value each other's life and that's it, friendship acquired

This accidentally became a post about how his feelings are genuine >:c He doesn't strike me as the "master manipulator" like haters make him out to be, The Emperor is a business nerd with zero social skills who needs therapy and my Tav can fix him, I sincerely believe that if you've been friendly to him the whole game he is genuine when at the end of the game he says he'll miss you... You're one of the only non-illithid to have not treated him like shit and didn't betray him and chose someone else's life over his when you had the chance, you accepted him for what he is and was nice/professional about it. And if you've become a Mind Flayer then obviously he's elated that he's gonna have a buddy to talk to, someone of his own new race who would understand him the best in a way others wouldn't

Okay rambling over, feel free to continue scrolling Tumblr uwu

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 the emperor #bg3 spoilers #bg3 discussion #bludermaus

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bladesmitten · 3 months

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I have been rotating a Wyll thought in my head for days and need to consult a fellow Wyll lover. I can’t remember the post exactly, I saw one talking about the kind of character who when faced with a choice of “save your love or save the world” they’re always going to pick save the world, even though the choice will destroy them, they can’t NOT think about the greater good. And of course that fits beloved Wyll perfectly and it’s one of the things I love about him, how unfailingly good he is.

Do you think that Wyll could be in a long term, good relationship with someone who was the opposite? Who will pick their love every time no matter the cost? Would that difference eventually drive them apart?

*CRACKS KNUCKLES* OK SO

(I'll talk about this mostly in the perspective of a good Tav/Durge!)

I think Wyll's resolve to choose saving the world even if it dooms his partner is part of his self-sacrificial tendencies. (Though if it's possibility, he's more inclined to sacrifice himself, of course.) It's part of him believing that he doesn't deserve to be selfish, to choose what Wyll wants (to have a long happy life), and not what The Blade of Frontiers/Avernus/Duke Ravengard wants (to protect the Sword Coast at all costs). (I can go into a whole other tangent about how this dichotomy should've been the focus of his character quest, but I digress!)

If Wyll has a partner who would choose their love every time no matter what, it'll definitely help Wyll realize that he can choose for himself, he can choose to save his loved ones. He doesn't need to sacrifice himself or his partner to save the world. (Better yet, he learns that someone is actually choosing to save him. Not the Blade, not the Duke, but Wyll.)

And in a world where people defy gods, kill devils, break warlock pacts and still come out alive on the other side, it's not impossible for them to have their cake and eat it too.

We can actually already see it in the way Wyll insists that Karlach should go back to Avernus so she can keep on living (choosing love instead of sacrifice). We see it in the way Wyll is confident that Gale doesn't need to sacrifice himself to save the world. Though he frames it in a way that Gale's talents are enough to defeat the Absolute, it's still choosing love instead of sacrifice.

Interestingly, we don't see that when the illithid decision is presented to the player, though I think at that point you've truly ran out of options and there's no other way out other than a sacrifice being made. Instead, Wyll only says he trusts the player on whatever decision you make, even if that means you'll probably break up later because he can't be with you in the "normal" way. (I would be remiss not to mention that I believe this is an oversight on Larian's part, where Wyll doesn't at all offer his opinion on whether or not the player should transform into an illithid or not.)

Of course, if Tav/Durge is truly irredeemably evil, Wyll also recognizes that, especially if you're at the point of no return. He will then leave you (or even turn hostile). My favourite example of this is when Durge accepts Bhaal and Jaheira tries to rally your companions at her side to defeat you. If Wyll is romanced, he actually joins Jaheira. Combat starts and he fights you and you have to kill him (and Jaheira).

My point is! It can go either way, if you like. If you want a divorce arc for your Tav/Durge, go ahead! It's fun and it can still be in-character for Wyll! If you want them to stay together, it can be character development for Wyll to learn that he can be selfish, that people will be selfish for him, and that selfishness is not necessarily a bad thing.

#ask #Anonymous #ummm this got long sorry but thank you for asking! as you can see i love talking about wyll #bg3 spoilers

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whatacaitastrophe · 13 days

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Everything Has Changed - Chapter 11

Previous Chapter

Chapter Song Inspiration: "Seven Nation Army" - Stevie Howie

Chapter Warnings: Idiots talking about their feelings.

Spotify Playlist: Here

Author Notes: thank you all so much for reading, reblogging, liking, and commenting on this fic (and the first one)! if you are interested in supporting me in other ways, I have a Ko-Fi link <3

i also have a discord server! it was created to coincide with my twitch channel but you do NOT need to follow/subscribe/watch my twitch streams to come hang out with us <3 we talk a lot about bg3 and share memes and fics.

Chapter 11: Talkin' to Myself at Night

The night of what she’d started referring to as “the incident” in her mind, Fallon didn’t sleep. Her mind was too busy. It was one thing to imagine her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend kissing, or imagine herself as the middle portion of a vampire and sorcerer sandwich, but it was another entirely for those fantasies to become a reality. Add in the fact that “the incident” in question occurred without her consent, and Fallon was left feeling truly unsure of how she felt, or if coming to some sort of arrangement with Astarion and Gale was something she even wanted anymore.

Fallon felt betrayed, and not just by Astarion. Gale swore that he never wanted to hurt Fallon again, and it took him less than a month to break that promise. Not only that, but once upon a time, Gale told Fallon that he was only interested in monogamous relationships. Fallon also knew that if the situation were reversed, and she were the one kissing Astarion without Gale’s consent, that Gale probably would have broken up with her on the spot upon catching them. The hypocrisy was rampant, and the hole in her heart that began to fill after rekindling her friendship with Gale was leaking again because of it. All of the reasons Fallon told herself that she couldn’t open her heart to Gale again (beyond the sexual relationship with Gale and Astarion she’d already fantasized about) were completely validated less than twenty-four hours after she’d even realized it was something she might want.

Then there was Astarion: the man who’d seen how fragile her heart was, glued the pieces Gale broke back together, promised to take care with it, and then promptly dropped it on the ground to shatter at the first opportunity. When she first met Astarion, he’d been all honeyed words of affirmation with a perfectly crafted persona to entice Fallon and the rest of their companions into trusting him as a method of survival. Was that still all she was to the vampire? A means to an end to ensure he survived another day? Had Astarion been playing the long con this whole time, and Fallon fell for it? Deep down, Fallon knew this wasn’t true; that Astarion loved her fiercely and genuinely. However, the logical part of her that knew this was currently being completely overpowered by her insecurities and anxieties, both of which were screaming at her for being stupid enough to trust that Astarion would keep his promise.

It all hurt, and the thing Fallon hated the most was that the person she would normally go to when she was hurting was the source of her pain. She thought about using her sending stone to contact Shadowheart, or Karlach, but Fallon could hear her friends’ voices in her mind already.

Shadowheart would tell her to go home– to go back to Baldur’s Gate and leave the vampire and the sorcerer to suffer the consequences of their actions and reflect on what they lost simply because they forgot to use their brains. “If they’re stupid enough to make that mistake, then they deserve each other, and certainly do not deserve you.”

Karlach, on the other hand, would probably jump straight to murder. Murder wasn’t usually Karlach’s go-to method of solving problems. Unless, of course, someone she cared about got hurt. With how happy-go-lucky Karlach was most of the time, it was easy to forget that the tiefling-turned-illithid once served in Zariel’s army, and that she killed a lot of people on Zariel’s behalf. “Say the word, soldier, and I’ll meet you in Waterdeep, sneak up on them in an alley, and make their deaths look like an accident.”

The solutions her friends would likely offer Fallon were not actually reasonable, or helpful, because they were just different forms of taking the easy way out, of running away from her problems. In the end it wouldn’t solve anything, and the person that was most likely to suffer most would still be Fallon. After all, how she felt about Astarion hadn’t suddenly changed in the wake of everything. How she’d started to feel about Gale again hadn’t gone away. Walking away from the two halves of her heart would do nothing but break her further.

At the end of the day, Fallon wanted to give Gale and Astarion the benefit of the doubt. She wanted to believe that “the incident” had been as unexpected and unplanned as they said it was. She wanted to believe that Astarion and Gale actually cared as deeply for her as they claimed.

Most importantly, she wanted them , and at the end of a sleepless night into a restless morning, that was where Fallon’s mind landed. The men who claimed to love her so deeply would get a chance to prove their love, but she would make them work for it. There would be no glossing over their infidelity and jumping right into a conversation about what being “together” as a threesome would look like. No, she fully intended to make the vampire and the sorcerer squirm, and to sit with the consequences of their actions for a while; to make them see earning her forgiveness was not as simple as saying “Sorry, it was an accident, we love you!”

Fallon slipped out of the inn in Daggerford as soon as she was certain the shops were open, and purchased her own tent, as she had no intention of sharing one with Astarion for the next three days while they made the final leg of their journey to Waterdeep. Fallon knew herself, and having Astarion that close would increase the opportunity for her to have a moment of weakness, to fold too soon.

When she returned to the inn with her new tent slung over her shoulder in a bag, Astarion and Gale were in the tavern, where the latter was eating breakfast. Astarion noticed her enter the tavern first, and he nudged Gale, nodding in Fallon’s direction. Gale looked at Fallon hopefully as she made her way towards the table. Fallon did not sit down as she observed the two men. They both looked tired, and Fallon did not even feel bad about the fact that knowing they slept like shit too brought her a little bit of joy.

“I’ve decided I’ll be sleeping in my own tent for the next couple of days.” She explained, acknowledging the bag over her shoulder. Astarion’s eyes flickered sadly as he realized they were not forgiven yet, and that his actions would cost him more than a single night without Fallon in his arms.

“What you did, what it means…Quite honestly, just looking at the two of you hurts. You don’t get to treat me like that and expect me to carry on like nothing happened, even if the idea of the three of us being an “us” is something I want to talk about. I refuse,” Fallon’s voice was cold, and she could feel her throat threatening to close up as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Gods dammit, she was not going to cry in the middle of the fucking tavern. She furiously blinked back her tears, averting her gaze from Astarion and Gale since looking at them was just making it worse. “I need more time. When I’m ready to talk, I’ll come to you. Be ready to leave in an hour.” She did not stick around to see them silently nod their heads as they agreed to her terms, or the way that they guiltily looked at each other because they made her cry (again).

Fallon did not speak to Gale or Astarion unless absolutely necessary for the next three days. In fact, a passerby would have assumed that somebody had cast a Silencing spell over their group, with how quiet their journey from Daggerford to Waterdeep was. Fallon’s silent treatment made Gale and Astarion hesitant to even speak to each other in her presence, and while Fallon hadn'tt asked them to do that, if they wanted to deprive themselves of verbal communication until she was ready to speak to them both as some form of self-punishment, she also wasn't going to correct them.

At night, after she retired to her tent for the evening, Fallon often heard them talking to each other in hushed tones as she drifted off to sleep. Each conversation was entirely about her, how terrible they felt for hurting her so badly that she was still ignoring them, and when they thought she would speak to them again.

“I didn’t think it was possible for her to be quiet for this long,” Gale muttered to Astarion on the eve of the third day. “How much longer do you believe this will last?”

“I’m not sure, but if she didn’t deign to speak to us for another fortnight, would you blame her? I consider us lucky that she’s even considering speaking to us again at all,” Astarion countered, sighing heavily, and Fallon smiled softly to herself as she listened. “We’ll reach Waterdeep tomorrow, so maybe she’ll be ready to talk once we get to your tower?”

“I hope so,” Gale said wistfully. “Speaking of which, I got a hold of Tara. Everything should be ready when we arrive.”

“Excellent. Gods, I hope this works. I wouldn’t blame Fallon for ignoring us for another fortnight if she wished, but that doesn’t mean I want her to. I didn’t realize it was possible to miss someone you see every day.”

Though Fallon could have guessed that Astarion missed her (probably Gale, too) by the way they looked at her whenever she’d grant either of them any brief acknowledgement in the last three days, it was still nice to hear the vampire say it out loud. Giving Astarion and Gale the silent treatment had been harder for Fallon than she thought it would be, because every time she acknowledged them, the hopeful look on their faces, the optimistic thought that, perhaps, the worst of her hurt and anger might be over, nearly broke her resolve. Not speaking to them unless absolutely necessary had also made Fallon miss them , too. By the time they rode through the city entrance to Waterdeep, the deepest parts of the hurt Fallon felt because of their actions had passed. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but the idea of talking to Gale and Astarion about it didn’t reduce her to tears anymore. That was Fallon’s internal sign that she was ready for this conversation, and perhaps, to begin down the path to forgiveness.

The City of Splendours was just as beautiful as the name would suggest, and Fallon was actually starting to think that Gale had somehow managed to undersell his hometown. She couldn’t help but watch Gale’s face as he took in the city as they passed through the streets. Fallon couldn’t remember the last time she saw Gale look so happy. In fact, Fallon wasn’t entirely sure she’d ever seen Gale as happy as he was in that moment.

Gale looked back at Fallon, still beaming as they rode beside each other. “If you’ll allow me to take the lead, I will escort us to my tower.” She nodded, pulling back on her horse’s reins slightly so Gale could pass, and even that small acknowledgement made Gale’s smile so much brighter. Of course, finding Gale’s tower wouldn’t have exactly been difficult even if she and Astarion had been on their own. The ornate tower was centrally located, and arguably one of the tallest buildings she could see. To her surprise, there were people waiting to take their horses to a nearby stable when they arrived, and a small bit of sadness filled Fallon as she kissed her own horse’s nose for the final time, at least until they returned. It wasn’t like the horses could go through the portal to Asha with them, and no matter how long they remained in Waterdeep, Fallon had a feeling they’d mostly walk.

The quiet filling the air as Fallon, Gale, and Astarion entered the landing level of Gale’s tower was a different kind of silence to the one they’d been sitting in for the last several days. Fallon and Astarion were in too much awe to speak, and Gale was just so happy to be home that he looked like he was trying not to cry. “It’s beautiful, Gale.” Fallon said softly as they ascended the stairs to the next level, where Tara was waiting for them in the sitting room.

“Mr. Dekarios! It is so lovely to see you sir, you’re looking much better than you were the last time I saw you– even if you still haven’t shaved that horrid thing on your face. Nice to see you both again, too.” Tara greeted them.

“Hi Tara.” Fallon giggled, not able to help herself. She remembered Gale lamenting about how much the tressym hated his long hair and scruffy face, but Gale liked it, so it stayed. Fallon liked it, too, so she was glad that Gale’s companion hadn’t managed to bully him into getting rid of it.

Gale sighed, but the smile on his face never faded as he shook his head at Tara. “It’s lovely to see you as well, Tara. I’ve missed you,” he squatted down so he could scratch beneath the tressym’s chin. When he stood again, he clapped his hands together. “Is everything in order?”

Tara hopped onto the back of the sofa. “Everything is in order and still on schedule,” she confirmed, and Fallon looked back and forth between Gale and Astarion with a curious look on her face. “Is what in order?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Tara was referring to whatever plan Astarion and Gale concocted to get back in her good graces, but there was a schedule?

Astarion removed his facial covering now that they were indoors again, and he gave her a sly look in reply. “You’ll find out soon enough, darling, but I’m afraid you’ll need to remain in the dark just a bit longer.”

Gale’s look matched Astarion’s, and suddenly Fallon found herself regretting putting the two of them in a situation to conspire against her. “Indeed. On that note, I’m afraid we have to kick you out for a bit,” Fallon frowned as Gale continued. “Not to worry, though! Tara has agreed to act as your guide while you explore the city”

Fallon opened her mouth to argue– she’d really been looking forward to just taking a bath and mentally preparing herself for the conversation she intended to have with the vampire and the sorcerer standing before her; but before she could say anything, Astarion cut her off as he reached into his pocket for a small satchel that had the telltale jingle of coin inside, offering it to her. “I realize we’ve not given you much of a reason to trust us recently, but I promise you won’t regret it. Please.” His eyes were soft and pleading, the closest to a puppy-eyed expression Fallon had ever seen Astarion make. Gale was already rubbing off on him.

If they really went this far out of their way to plan something for her, the least she could do is play along. Fallon let out a resigned sigh and nodded. “Lead the way, Tara.” She gestured to the door and relief washed over Gale and Astarion’s faces, the latter looked like he’d kiss Fallon if she let him. The tressym hopped down from the back of the sofa and made her way towards the door. “This way, miss Fallon.” Fallon nodded in goodbye to Astarion and Gale, smiling softly at them, and she followed Tara out.

Once back outside the tower, Tara hopped up onto Fallon’s shoulder, causing the elf to let out a noise of surprise. “Forgive me, miss Fallon, it’s just easier to travel like this– I fear you’d lose me rather quickly otherwise. Our first stop isn’t far.”

“First stop?” Fallon asked warily.

“Oh yes, this is a multiple-stop outing, miss Fallon. Astarion and Mr. Dekarios gave me explicit instructions.”

“Why am I suddenly nervous?” Fallon mused as she weaved through the streets of Waterdeep, Not a single passerby seemed to be surprised to see a tressym sitting on her shoulder, which meant things like this were just…normal here. She followed Tara’s instructions as she took in her surroundings.

Fallon didn’t know why it surprised her so much, but their first stop was a bookshop. She should have known, since this was an outing at least half-planned by Gale Dekarios. The shop was quiet, with only around twenty or so other patrons milling about and browsing books. “Hello, Norbert!” Tara greeted someone as they entered. The halfling sitting on a high top stool behind the counter looked up from his book, and as soon as he saw Fallon and Tara, his face brightened. “Ah, Tara! I was wondering when you’d be by. Let me go grab your order.”

The halfling slid from his stool and disappeared into the back of his shop. “Tara, did Gale send me out with you to run his errands?” She laughed.

“Technically, yes, but also no. We’re not here for an order for Mr. Dekarios.”

Confusion etched across Fallon’s features. “Are we running your errands?”

“Goodness, I thought Mr. Dekarios said you were a bright woman,” the tressym chastised, and Fallon frowned. “He placed an order for you, dear.”

Fallon’s face immediately softened, and her heart swelled in her chest. Of course Gale would use books as a means of re-gaining favor with someone. The halfling returned with a small stack of books in his hands, and Fallon immediately recognized the book on the bottom of the stack just from its spine. She waited patiently for the halfling to set the books on his counter before touching them. “Here you are, all present and accounted for.”

Fallon reached for the books and began scanning the titles– the first three were all romance novels, but the last book in the stack made Fallon gasp. It was a first edition copy of the book about the boy wizard. How had Gale managed to find this? The book was printed almost twenty years ago. Fallon carefully opened it, and a folded piece of parchment slipped out, fluttering to the floor. Tara jumped onto the counter as Fallon bent down to retrieve it, and she realized it was a note, addressed to her. Fallon unfolded the parchment and recognized the neat, precise script with which it was written.

“ Dearest Fallon,

As you know, when we met, one of the first things that drew me to you was our shared love of literature. Once upon a time I recommended three romance novels to you, and promised to procure copies for you after we saved the world. These are a bit delayed on delivery, seeing as we saved the world two years ago at this point, but I do hope you enjoy them all the same. I’d planned on taking you to this shop to purchase copies for you once we arrived in Waterdeep anyway and then, well, you know what happened.

You’ve obviously read the last one in the stack, but you mentioned Astarion has been hogging your copy, so I had Norbert find another for you. Admittedly, I was quite surprised when he told me that he had a first edition copy in his stockroom! What a treasure, indeed, just like its new owner.

I realize that it might seem like I am trying to buy your forgiveness, but I can assure you that is not the case. I would have bought them for you anyway, because you deserve to start doing things you enjoy again, after spending so long sacrificing yourself and your needs for the greater good. Though I do look forward to (hopefully) hearing your thoughts on the romance books once you’ve finished them. They’re quite riveting.

Yours,

Gale”

Fallon’s smile grew wider and wider as she read Gale’s not. The sorcerer might not have been trying to buy her forgiveness, but it was definitely helping. “Thank you, Norbert. These are lovely. I can’t wait to read them.”

The halfling beamed at her. “Enjoy! Gale has excellent taste, so I doubt you’ll be disappointed.”

Tara jumped back onto Fallon’s shoulder. “Tara, do we have time for me to browse for a bit, to see if I find anything else I might like?”

“We do! Mr. Dekarios had a feeling you might want to browse,” Tara confirmed, and Fallon smiled. “He said to tell you to pick out whatever you’d like, and Norbert will put it on his tab.”

Of course Gale had a tab at his local bookshop, Fallon was not even surprised. She spent the next half-hour browsing the shelves and managed to limit herself to two additional books. After all, Gale already bought her four and she didn’t want to seem like she was taking advantage of his kindness (and his desire to get back on her good side). With her books stashed in her bag of holding, Fallon exited the shop and looked around. “Where to next, Tara?”

The next shop they visited was a dress shop, and Fallon did not even need to ask which man instructed Tara to bring her here. Just as Norbert had, the elven woman running the shop recognized Tara, and she immediately greeted them both with a bright smile as she pulled a note out of a drawer on her side of the counter. Once again, the note was addressed to Fallon and was written in a familiar, elegant script.

“Fallon, my love,

I believe I still owe you a new dress after ruining yours at the Winter Solstice. The shop has your measurements, and I told them what colors you prefer, so they hopefully pulled a few things already. I look forward to seeing whichever breathtaking option you choose.

I love you.

xx,

Astarion”

Even the notes they’d each written for her were entirely in character. Gale’s verbosity extended even to paper, while Astarion was right to the point, and each note left Fallon’s heart stuttering in her chest. Sure enough, as Fallon pocketed the note from Astarion, the shopkeeper had walked across the shop to a small rack of dresses separate from everything else. Fallon smiled at the assortment of dark blue, burgundy, and black dresses that hung there. “Tara, I don’t suppose you know if there’s a specific occasion I should be shopping for, or if I’m simply just to choose any dress that suits my fancy?”

“I’ve been instructed to tell you that there are plans this evening for which you might want to have a new dress but, and I quote, 'she could show up wearing rags off the floor of the Elfsong Tavern and she’d still look beautiful, so it doesn’t matter.' ”

Fallon snorted with laughter. Even Tara’s delivery of the instructions sounded like Astarion. “Well alright then.”

There was a stool next to the rack of clothing, and Tara jumped onto it and sat down. “While I am not privy to all of the details, Mr. Dekarios alluded to the…transgressions he and Astarion committed together. As a result, he and Astarion are now both desperate to prove how much they care for you, and are equally as desperate to earn your forgiveness,”

“Well that’s certainly one way of putting it.” Fallon hummed as she began to examine the dresses on the rack before her with intent.

“So, miss Fallon, if I may make one tiny suggestion? One female to another?” There was a mischievous tone in Tara’s voice that piqued Fallon’s curiosity, and she tore her gaze from the dresses to look at the tressym.

“Let’s hear it.” Fallon agreed.

“Make them crawl.”

Chapter List

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #astarion #female tav #bg3 fanfic #gale x tav #astarion x tav #bloodweave #bloodweave x tav #astarion x gale x tav #bg3 fan fic #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fan fiction #bg3 fic

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blackjackkent · 3 months

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Interesting random little note found in the submersible on the way out, apparently left by Redhammer. (I guess Redhammer was supposed to have been along and piloting during that descent down to the Iron Throne and back, but he didn't say anything or have any involvement in the whole process. XD )

Eek. There are mephits trapped in the sub's engines to make it run?

Hector finds this a bit disquieting, like he did when he learned the pixie was powering the Moonlantern. It'd be nice if there was a way to let them out before we leave (now that we've done our business underwater there's much to be said for not leaving this a workable resource for Gortash), but I can't find one.

We also have a chance to talk with Omeluum, which of course we will do because Omeluum is a bro:

"Your world's air... I never imagined missing its feeling on my skin. Curious."

When they first met, Hector did not at all trust Omeluum and would have happily lashed out at it, given any cause. That was very early in his journey, and he is surprised to realize, yet again, that he has come quite a long way since those early days. While he often still feels overwhelmed and exhausted by everything he has gone through, there is a greater strength in him against the fear and doubt. His clarity of mind is strengthened by more experience.

He is still wary of Omeluum, but he has seen far more terrible things now and knows that Omeluum does not count among them anymore. For all its dangerous nature, Omeluum has never tried to convince him to transform, or to threaten him or any of his allies.

He finds himself drawing a curious, almost academic comparison in his mind between Omeluum and the Emperor - the two mind flayers he has had the opportunity to examine at close range. It is easy to think of illithids as a homogeneous, unvarying force, but the two of them are by no means the same, even physically - Omeluum's head is rounder, its skin more weathered and wrinkled; there's a less distinct gradation between its skin and the soft, pulsating tissue on the sides of its skull. Its eyes are pale gold compared to the Emperor's lavender. It looks older, slimmer, more intellectual in a strange way - unsurprising, perhaps, give its role in the Society of Brilliance.

Hector is reminded, abruptly, of drawing a similar mental comparison once in his youth, watching a conversation the abbot of the monastery at the time and a visiting Harper who had stopped through for news. The abbot was an old scholar, alert and capable but also cold and controlled, set in his ways, while the Harper had a deep-set purposeful energy about him, the air of one who faced threats and dealt with them swiftly. There is something of that same distinction between Omeluum and the Emperor, although Hector has trouble articulating what might lie behind it.

"I owe you a great debt, sun child," Omeluum goes on thoughtfully, its glowing eyes narrowing as it looks Hector up and down. "One I shall repay. When I return to the surface, I will alert my colleagues at the Society. Find me there, and I will offer you what aid I can against this evil."

Yay, more allies!

Gods know, Hector needs all of them that he can get.

#bjk plays baldur's gate 3 #hector carlisle

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optiwashere · 3 months

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This is a big one for the Asheera replay.

Context if you've missed things so far: I'm replaying the game as Asheera again for a combination of inspiration, reminders of characterization, and also to solidify how Asheera feels about a lot of the major companion moments in-game. I'm also way farther than this now so I'm probably going to speed up what content the replay posts cover...

Before we get to the main event, I wanted to go over some of Asheera's high level thoughts on the companions so far!

Karlach - Fast becoming good friends. Lots of silly banter shared in camp, on the road, basically wherever. Asheera enjoys hearing Karlach's stories about Avernus whenever she's willing to share them; it gives her better perspective on her oath. To see what some would call a monster, a woman that was on the frontlines of the Blood War, and call her friend?

Lae'zel - Still tense, but Lae'zel is coming around on Asheera. Asheera respects her in combat, the crèche is still a possible cure, and she still knows more than anyone else in the party about illithids. Side note, but Lae'zel thinks the situation between Shadowheart and Asheera is pointless given their condition. It's not even physical? Why bother?

Shadowheart - Growing closer, and the rest of this post kinda goes into why. Asheera is starting to hear her faith as zealotry and that's concerning, but it's also... sad? Asheera hears in her words something that triggers the redeemer's instinct to search for more than what's on the surface. She doesn't respect Sharrans (who would?) and she wonders what lies behind the fanaticism.

Wyll - He's everything he ever said he was and more. Asheera thinks he's just a good guy, and that's honestly something she needs on her side. He's quite flirtatious too, which is a fun break from fighting. She doesn't swing that way, but it's fun watching him fumble with literally everyone in camp.

Gale - Asheera is glad that she was wrong about Gale. He really is just eccentric. Maybe a bit egotistical and prone to overexplaining himself, but he's been a decent man so far and he did explain the entire magical item eating problem pretty quickly. Being able to trust a wizard is always good!

Astarion - He's just fascinating. He's an asshole and a blowhard, but he's at least open about it. That at least gives her something to work with. The whole "pretending not to be a vampire" schtick was getting old anyways. Plus, imagine the look on her fellow paladins' faces when she tells them she actually had a chance at redeeming a vampire spawn? That's worth the effort alone.

Now. Time for Shadowheart and her "oh btw, I worship Shar" reveal. Which, you know... wasn't obvious by the armor she wears to begin with or the gigantic purple tent with Sharran iconography stitched into it. It's always good to have confirmation!

But seriously, this is a really major moment for the Asheera/Shadowheart relationship.

After Asheera hears this confession, I have to just headcanon that Shadowheart's tent doesn't have the iconography on it. Otherwise this being a "reveal" is completely lost for me. When she first mentions it, Asheera is definitely surprised. Yeah, Shadowheart can be annoyed when Asheera acts altruistically, but it's never been something that comes between them really.

She said 2 in this dialogue by the way. It's a moment where she wants to put all their cards on the table. After a somewhat long discussion, Shadowheart then says something that completely changes the tone of the conversation:

At this point, Asheera sees Shadowheart. Really, finally sees her. Not the "shield of secrecy" that she preaches blindly, mindlessly regurgitating things she's been told about Shar. Right here, she sees pain in every word that Shadowheart says about her Dark Lady. There is a purpose to it all, that's what she wants to believe.

Not the pain. None of what Shadowheart says here is actually about loss, pain, or suffering. What Shadowheart yearns for is purpose and meaning. That's all Asheera hears, and her heart breaks for this woman that she just thought was going to be a distraction during their adventure.

It's also so massive for Shadowheart's characterization for the same reason. She's so deluded that she then starts spouting propaganda that's completely and totally false...

Like, Shadowheart?

Baby?

Shar advocates for literally none of that lmao. Sharrans destroy things that aren't Sharran and call that idolatry, they worm their way into organizations with assassination and manipulation to control them, and heretics are anyone that will not accept Shar. The level of brainwashed this girl is operating on with this dialogue is wild and it remains one of my favorite convos in the game even on replay.

For Asheera, she hears the absurd self-justification in Shadowheart's words. She is almost melancholic throughout this conversation except when she's talking about Sharran ideals. Suddenly, she becomes angry. Like it's a learned response from decades of abuse to force her into the mold she's been randomly chosen to fit.

Asheera's heard zealots before. At this point, even if their situationship never becomes anything more, Asheera is convinced that she needs to know more about this woman's pain. Maybe there is a way to help her?

Side-note: Shadowheart's defensiveness towards her own abuser is so fitting that it's kinda hard to watch on replay, knowing what we know about her entire arc. "So long as it has meaning..." what if there is no meaning, Shadowheart? What if it was entirely arbitrary?

That's what Asheera's thinking during this.

Furthermore, when Asheera learns that she's had her memory deliberately suppressed — and combined with the pains from the wound on her hand — it's basically red flags galore. She's not used to dealing with someone so thoroughly... unaware of her own situation. Asheera is very much a "charge headlong into the situation" type person for the most part, even if charging means a discussion rather than a fight.

Yet Shadowheart thinks that she can have everything she ever wanted if she appeases her own abuser. Horrifying.

I find this single approval tag so fucking telling. The approval tags can sometimes be broken and multiple in one branch can be directly contradictory depending on the sort of "route" you're trying to bring a companion down, but there's no alternative approval/disapproval in these choices. Everything else is neutral, but this one touches her.

Like, at this point we all know that Shadowheart is a deeply wounded person that wants to believe in something so that she four decades of suffering was for something, but the fact that she approves of you offering to help her with her wound is so... there's an entire essay to be written there.

It's unreal. She goes on and on and on about how Sharrans must remain free of all but their love of Shar. Her (perverse, abusive) love of Shar is literally physically symbolized in the stigmata she carries.

And she approves of Asheera trying to ease that pain? I think Shadowheart rationalizes this as Asheera trying to help her be a "true" Sharran and avoid the pain altogether, but that's not what the dialogue says. Nor is it Asheera's intent. Her intent is to help her ease the pain.

Now, there's lots of ways to read Shadowheart's wound as a depiction of chronic pain, and I don't want to take that away from folks. Love that for y'all, but in "my canon" and with Asheera specifically this is a moment where Shadowheart reaches out, hand held open hoping for anything or anyone to reach back, and Asheera is the first person that doesn't swat her away in fear or call her a failure for not adhering to her religion.

She takes Shadowheart's hand willingly, ignoring all the traps and knives Shadowheart's set up to protect herself. Why was sharing everything so easy? Secrecy is supposed to be what Sharrans need, after all. Why was it so easy for someone to listen to the way she speaks and for them to say, "I'd be lying if I said [Sharran faith] didn't sound convincing."

So long as it has meaning, right?

Also, I keep forgetting to take screenshots of Asheera's Dream Visitor and since they were brought up in one of the Companion!Tav asks...

Here she is in the character creator because I think the next time I see this character they will look quite a bit different lmao. Seeing this person in her dreams doesn't startle Asheera, it's not uncommon for her to dream about this person but then this dream version of that person begins speaking strangely. It makes Asheera immediately distrustful of this thing, whatever it is, once it starts speaking freely and saying things that this person would never have said.

#oc: asheera #asheera replay posts #this turned into a pseudo-meta post and I really desperately hope it doesn't draw That Crowd lmao #this has been a neat little experiment but I'm going to move these to weekly/whenever posts so that I can focus on headcanuary + fic writin #this has been the juice I needed - some inspiration!#i'm def speeding these up in terms of content if not frequency...

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haresvoid · 6 months

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Also there is not a companion I think Ome would dislike- it may disagree with certain philosophies or actions that may be performed, but it believes all of them have reasons. Some of the companions I think Ome would even think highly of- so here is a small breakdown of Omes opinions on each of the origin companions (cause I have asks that I will go more indepth on these sometime and also will add the other companions to those asks cause some I need to get more info about first too)

Astarion: Understands his needs and being seen as a monster because of what cannot be controlled, also the being enslaved to someone/something more powerful thing and the hate fostered from that. For sure disagrees with some of mindset and actions though.

Shadowheart: At first I do think Ome wouldn't know how it feels about Shadowheart- much of what she is tied to it has low or disagreeing opinions with naturally. However, if it was exposed to the whole of her story, it would develop compassion but also pity for what happened to her (this is one I need to think over more because I just am not sure).

Lae'zel: Ome does not harbor any of the animosity towards Gith that illithids do, and understands her disgust and desires to kill it with first meeting. This does mean Ome is however a bit guarded around her- it is a peaceful individual, but is not foolish. Depending on what development for her happens greatly depends on Omes opinions towards her. As someone who also wishes to see a change of the structure of their people and the disposal of a tyrannical force, it would be pro the revolution route tbh.

Gale: There is a lot of aspects about Gale Ome would like honestly- intelligence and the types of conversations he can provide would be similar to that which Ome would be interested in. Ome also does not have that "sorcerers looking down upon wizards" snobbery and would actually be quite interested in a lot of Gales magic that it might not have come across before. However, I do think some of Gales behavior would be concerning to Ome too as grasps for power automatically get the side eye from it.

Wyll: Positive opinions are what Ome has for Wyll- his willingness to dispose of evil and protect those that can't is something Ome would enjoy. And the coercion due to his good nature when he was young and vulnerable would be something Ome would find upsetting to learn about. Though of course the whole monsters = evil thing could I see become a point of conversation I think. Ome believes nothing is bound to a moral compass just because of what they are- whether it be goblin, devils, etc.

Karlach: Very high opinions about- the fact she remains golden hearted and so caring despite everything she went through would be admirable to Ome. Her willingness to also see past ones appearance and kill only those that deserve it. Also yes I do think a lot about how Karlach is the only one of the companions that has something truly positive to say about Ome after it helps tav and co

#THE SCHOLAR. files #( i need to do another playthrough to get more indepth on these tbh #cause there may be specific things i forgot )

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mongoose-bite · 4 months

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This little smile means she's gonna move the planes to get your soulmate back, Barcus. A nice reminder that if you treat people well and do good, you can kindle the light and even someone who seems like an arsehole can be your friend. And some people refuse to improve regardless.

WTF is this??? this raises so many questions. There are blood banks? Asterion steals from them (I can't imagine he pays?) Does he just carry around jars of blood like Starbucks cups?

Speaking of drinking gross things, Faye brought Omeluum the mushrooms and sensing the illithid thought she didn't have the stomach for it, took the potion and managed to keep it down. To no great use, sadly. When it offered her the ring her first thought was 'but don't you need it to hide from elder brains?' but that wasn't a conversation option available to me. Stay safe, my squiddy friend. Even illithid can manage not to be arseholes when they try.

Goodbye Underdark, and goodbye act one.

I was feeling a bit bad about leaving Wyll stuck at camp all the time, but I have a problem with warlocks. Conceptually they're amazing: mechanically I don't know what they're for. I know there are broken hexblade multiclass builds out there, but as a whole the class confuses me. So thanks to his transformation, Wyll has now come under the effects of chaotic magic, and I gave him a couple sorcerer levels. I do think I'll give him at least one more in warlock for multiattack, but I'm hoping he'll be a bit more use now. I also gave him a handful of thieves' tools. I was considering a rogue multi, but his dex isn't that great.

Time to see if the gith can help us; Faye actually thinks they're probably her best shot cause they're a people with actual experience dealing with mindflayers, unlike most people we've talked to. She is absolutely not going to steal a child, (even if the person asking is a silver fox - player not character talking here.) But asking politely is something she's prepared to do, if it looks like it will save a life.

The look on her face. How the hell did a gith lay something this size?

What is this strange feeling; the entire party approving of my actions? All because I left a sour-faced spoilsport at camp. I expect there's probably some sad, spoilery reason why tumblr isn't flooded with art of Blurg and Omeluum raising a gith. Why can't a family be a hobgoblin dad, an illithid parent, and a gith baby? (Can you imagine presenting that to your DM as a character backstory? Although stranger things have happened; our OotA party permanently turned a beholder into a dwarf...long story.)

I had to burn all but one of my inspiration dice to get Laz'ael out of the machine, and Faye's actually pretty proud of her for sticking with them despite it all; gives her a bit of hope for Shadowheart, whom she hopes is paying close attention to this crisis of faith (she's probably busy learning the wrong lessons.)

So the creche overall was terrifying, and Faye is wondering just how many more impossibly powerful beings she's gonna piss off before this is over. She's still half-convinced the Samoan drow in the astral plane is an illithid trick, but that doesn't mean it's not telling the truth about the gith. She didn't deface the portrait in the creche, obviously, but oh boy Dyce has form should he ever come this way.

Faye doesn't follow any god. The hag tossed insults about her having one, but when she went toe to toe with the drow in the Underdark, she declared it her Oath against his god. To paraphrase Cromwell, it's not her faith in the gods that guides her, but her faith in herself. If Lethander turned out to be a liar, Faye's beliefs would not change.

Which means when you go back to camp after the second most terrifying and awful day of your life, there's no one to pray to to watch over and protect you. But you can pat your dog. My poor girl. She's not yet desperate enough to try Volo's needle, because she can't imagine it will work, but she's crossed an awful lot of other options off the list.

#crunchy plays bg3 #bg3

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mr-leach · 3 months

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I had a dream last night where the premise was "what is the funniest party of 4 combo of Baldur's Gate 3 companions to throw into Curse of Strahd" and my subconscious decided on Astarion, Karlach, Shadowheart, and Lae'zel

Astarion is the obvious choice but specifically in my dream this was post BG3 and apparently Cazador hadn't been dealt with?? Like wherever Tav may be they're apparently a fucking cunt who didn't help free the poor bastard. So he was understandably miserable and scared and very cranky on account of becoming violently ill any time he tried to feed on animal blood. I didn't get far enough into the dream to figure out how they dealt with this but I could see it getting ugly real fast.

Karlach was a mean choice I feel like. I mean I can see the first week or so being fun for her cause she gets to help people who need helping and kill a bunch of evil creatures and in that sense she'd be having the time of her life, and thus it would be very funny! But also like. Trapping her in another realm of death and misery and telling her she can never leave? Don't make me think about it I'll cry

Shadowheart is another obvious choice tbh. Provider of snarky commentary and snide remarks a plenty, naturally she would have a field day in a place like Barovia. She had black hair in my dream so I assume she was still big on Shar. The dread realms are supposedly located in a deep corner of the shadowfell so tbh she would probably be sitting pretty. EXCEPT FOR THE WOLVES GODDAMN IT. Seriously, what was my subconscious on. Evil.

Lae'zel is the only true pure comedic choice my brain came up with tbh. Barovia is just as alien as everywhere else to her, foul beasts and undead are no doubt regrettable to encounter but not nearly as troubling or foul than mindflayers and other illithid horrors, and then most of the horrible shit going on in Barovia would be so inconsequential to her that at most she would be just a passive commentator to some of the most gruesome shit ever and then add her two cents like "RIP to Mordenkainan but I'm built different" "idk if it were me I think I'd just kill Vargas and put his severed head on display in the town square to send a message" and aside from really wanting to leave she would have so little stake in anything going on. Dark powers won't even fuck with her cause she's highly trained to resist manipulation and on that note Strahd would seem like such a loser to her. Wait you were a formidable conqueror and renowned warrior and you did what? Extremely cringe dude, couldn't be me.

Anyway I don't remember a whole lot from the dream tbh aside from the premise deliberately trying to be as funny as possible and the party members that were chosen. I think Astarion got sick from eating spider blood and Karlach had to carry him into town. There was some silly stuff about the Barovian citizens having no idea what Gith were, Lae'zel having no social skills, and Shadowheart providing "cultural translation" so they wouldn't get chased out for every extremely off colour thing Lae'zel said. It got very dicey but Karlach was cute and charming enough to make up for how much the rest of the party unsettled everyone.

#cool stories

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crossdressingdeath · 4 months

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(Mind flayer Durge anon again) Oh wow so. I did not know ANY of that mind flayer lore. I just did some more reading on some wikis too and what the fuck. My only experience with mind flayers had been Bg3 itself and god the game really brushes past all that huh. I very much get WHY they chose to make it vague in the context of the story they wrote, but I very much do NOT get why they wrote the story that way in the first place if they knew enough about it to know they had to leave it vague. Anyway never mind my previous ask lol, I really did think it was just your new Squid Forme and a resistible urge to eat brains until a few minutes ago.

Also you are so right about Omeluum. Lbr the fact that Larian wanted the contrived conflict over the pc having to turn themself or someone else into a mind flayer, is exactly the reason why Omeluum thee mind flayer ally only gives you a bag of potions when even characters like Mol (literal child) and Valeria (famously lazy) and Mizora (evil!!!!) will show up to help your ass in the final battle. It’s kind of an insane plot hole actually but whatever I guess 😭

Yeah, Larian kind of leaves it at "You're MONSTROUS now, you've got TENTACLES and you EAT BRAINS" and like... no. You're dead. You die. The tadpole devours your brain. The "you" that exists post-transformation is an echo made from your memories, and there's honestly no real reason to believe that that echo is going to last; mind flayers generally don't retain much of their host's personality, and the fact that you seem to be the same person now doesn't mean you're going to stay that way. It seriously undercuts the whole "sacrifice" angle of the transformation that the writing treats it like it's basically fine. One of the things making Omeluum Best Squid is that unlike the Emperor it does not claim to be the same person it was; the Emperor's like "No no I'm still Balduran, really, I'm definitely the same person, trust me!" but Omeluum just... is a person. Not the same person it was, but a person all the same. But I suspect Larian not going into why turning into a mind flayer is a really really really really really bad thing is why we get things like people acting like the LIs not breaking up with the player if they go full illithid is The Only Correct And Loving Choice (despite the fact that both "you eat brains now and can barely control yourself" and "you're not actually the person I fell in love with, you're a tadpole-based echo that likely won't last" are extremely valid reasons to break up with someone; let's be real, most people would break up with their significant other under those circumstances) and people insisting that letting Karlach go full mind flayer so she doesn't have to go to the Hells is her best ending: despite "if we don't do something we'll turn into mind flayers" being the inciting motivation of every act one companion, Larian did a really bad job of properly establishing why that's such a bad thing beyond the basic "tentacles and brain-eating" thing.

And I didn't even think of it, but you're probably right that Omeluum doesn't show up for the final battle because otherwise it would be really obvious that there was a solution to this issue that didn't require anyone turning into a mind flayer. Although honestly even if Omeluum didn't exist I think it would feel incredibly contrived; Larian, please explain to me why we need a mind flayer to control the Netherbrain when non-transformed and imprisoned Orpheus working alone and without the Netherstones already has the power to keep it at bay. Please! RPG writers! You do not need to cram Horrible Dilemmas With No Right Answer into the endgame! Sometimes it's okay to end the game by just fighting an evil guy! Or an evil brain in this case!

#bg3 #asks #anon

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1800duckhotline · 4 months

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Ok ok so I gotta know, what is Salice's dynamic with everyone in the party? Does she generally get along with them or would she feed them to the wolves if it wasn't for the brain worms?

A/n: This is long. im sorry. this goes under readmore. What playing the game for 2 week straight does to a mf

SO ITS FUNNY. Salice is generally a kind of dry, sarcastic bitch that generally doesn't particularly enjoy 'befriending' people. The only person she's ever been truly friends with is her is her best friend & (previously) colleague Allen Owen, a wizard of the school of conjuration, who she met when she was studying law way long ago, like 10 years or so prior to the start of the story.

At the start she's kind of neutral towards everyone due to the Circumstances. she is kind of a bitch, and rude, but due to the situation (that being, you know, the brainworms and possible transformation into an illithid) she tries to be less of an asshole simply because she does not want to risk being killed by the few people she's met that are sound of mind and not Absolute fanatics

This is also me generally throwing spice on the concept as a whole since the game isn't really full ofliberties in terms of shaping your tav's personality. In general, she tries to do the good thing, but can be a dick about it, and isn't against doing scummy stuff if it means getting to the bottom of things or resolving matters without necessarily risking certain death. This means she's generally more likely to get along with Shadowheart, Wyll, Gale, and even Karlach. I imagine with Lae'zel and Astarion the relationship is definitely on the neutral side. She doesn't really hate anyone but doesn't really like Astarion tbh lol

She has issues with being closed-off and has difficulty opening up to people. She has a full-on machismo complex caused by her father and tends to be very competitive when it comes to putting in show her skills especially when she meets masculine people like her (regardless if they're men or not), HOWEVER...Circumstances make this a little easier to break through.

TO PUT IT SHORT BECAUSE I'M ALREADY RAMBLING:

Wyll: They're pretty good friends by the time of Act 2 (where I've played until now), they bond over the fact that they are warlocks stuck in bad contracts with bitch devils. Unfortunately he's genuinely a fully good person which means she feels too bad to truly talk to him about Her Contract and who Her Patron is bc it's a weird, and not exactly "good-natured" story lol. I imagine he thinks of her as someone he can relate to due to their similar situations but I can't think he'd be exactly approving of the selfish reasons behind her pact.

Gale: I have to be frank she initially finds him weird and awkward but very very fast starts liking him - he's the one she's most likely to get feelings for, truth be told, because Salice has a weakness for nerds of that type. That and it seems fated (to her) that she ends up being chummiest with wizards, for one reason or another. She does not handle her own feelings well tho so if I had to write the whole thing instead of having to follow the way the game does it it'd be a liiiiiiiiiittle complicated.

Also consolidated because of this insane ass line

Because she probably does in fact NOT bathe that much during adventuring. Anyways . I can't fully develop thoughts now. Tl;dr they get along well. Much to everyone's surprise

Astarion: boy she can't stand his ass....she feels sorry for him and everything like it sucks obviously. He had a shitty life. But she honestly sometimes is like "king just because you have been miserable you don't need to make everyone else miserable too. whats with you". The feeling is otherwise mutual I imagine because he also is like "this bitch has the audacity to tell me how to act after 200 years of Torture when she's in a contract with a fucking DEVIL.." which he is right for also. but they can be friendly sometimes. She lets him drink from her and such because she dgaf that much. frenemies. Would hit it if he acted straightforward for once though

Shadowheart: Salice would think she's okay and feels sorry for her that she's devoted to the point of mindlessly accepting her own suffering as part of her devotion. She doesnt care that shadowheart is a follower of Shar, she just thinks she needs to reevaluate at what point her religion should override her own comfort. Another case of damn that sucks on salice's part and Shadowheart also thinks Salice is fine herself, evenif she thinks it's weird that after opening up to her about her own struggle Salice has basically like. Said almost nothing about herself to her. Is considering holding her at knifepoint just to know ANYTHING (this is because salice is paranoid about sharing anything abt herself). But little does she know all she needs is a little alcohol and salice will be babbling in no time

Lae'zel: I think she and Lae'zel are on good terms because of a few things: Salice is cutthroat and can also fight well and LOVES to fight, honestly. they definitely banged once (and fought for dominance while doing it) but salice was like that was awesome but i think im good for a while (clueless about things to come) (Faerun's most sexually repressed woman [in the sense she likes showing off but can't take back what she dishes out]). Salice is just like, nice to Lae'zel because she's like what am i gonna do? Act like a bitch to her when she's helpful and surprisingly refreshing to be around ? Absolutely not. They're good friends who spar sometimes

Karlach: Salice likes Karlach because she thinks she's so Genuine and its so Rare to see . And as a result salice feels a little inadequate to being her friend but, considering everything and their shared passion for fighting, she does what she can to help her out. Even if it ain't the easiest task sometimes. I gotta think about this specific dynamic some more, but in general, they're on friendly terms. But Karlach wishes that salice was a little nicer and less of a cunt at times (not directly at her but at the others & people in general)

(smiles painfully) i think that's it. for now. Anyway. Thank oyu for the question i hope it helps

#asks #oc rambles #salice bg3 #ill tag it like dis for now #If you see me draw cringe oc/canon in the near future...its MY business. OK?

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thessalian · 9 months

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Astrid vs the Ancient Chapel

Approaching a very large door

Astrid: This looks like a really good lock. Would any of you--?

Shadowheart; Astarion: I can do it.

Astarion: I mean ... I'd likely be better at it, but if the lady cleric wishes to give it a go first. Just ... don't bend the lock too much, or--

Shadowheart: *natural 20*

Lock: *yields before the might of Critical Success*

Astarion: ...Having a god at your back is cheating.

Astrid: We'll let you show off at the next one; promise.

Shadowheart: Or we could let him show off at the nasty little trap right in the entrance ... and more beyond, I think.

Astarion: Find me the right tools for that, and we'd be golden. As it is, though, I don't think we're opening much in there.

Astrid: Maybe we should try to find another way in.

Astarion: Why do we want to go in here, exactly? We do have priorities, you know.

Astrid: Gale likes learning things...

Gale: *beams*

Astrid: ...Shadowheart's cleric of a death god, and this looks like the kind of place where you can learn neat things about death gods...

Shadowheart: *reluctant smirk*

Astrid: ...I personally like a bit of adventure ... and also there are probably things worth money in there and like I told Lae'zel back on the ship, if we find a settlement or a city or something, we're going to need things to trade for ... you know, food. Shelter that isn't a camp. Healing services.

Astarion: Honestly? You had me at 'money'. Let's go.

Up at the top of the chapel

Bandit Gnome: Look, we've got this place handled; we ought to go loot that ship wot crashed!

Astrid: Um ... you should possibly ... not?

Bandit Gnome: Fuck you; we saw it first!

Astrid: First of all? Unless you were with it before it dropped out of the Hells? No, you really did not. Second ... it's dangerous in there. Various bits are still on fire, bits are falling off to crush whatever happens to be passing, and I'm not sure we killed all the intellect devourers and illithids. There was this one wounded one that I kind of mercy-killed and that's okay but we didn't get close to all the bodies after that and I don't really know how to check the pulse of an illithid anyway so we kind of left a lot of the bodies in case checking for signs of life resulted in our brains becoming a tasty treat, although I guess--

Bandit Gnome: Okay! Okay! We get the picture! C'mon, lad; I need a drink.

Two Bandits: *wander off*

Gale: Were you ... really going to tell them that we wouldn't have the problem of having our brains eaten?

Astrid: Probably, because I figure it'd scare them even more, but I am glad I didn't have to. It's honestly really nice when I can talk our way out of a fight.

Shadowheart: Hmm. There's something down there.

Astrid: And there's a convenient big weight up there! Okay, stand back! *crossbow bolt to big counterweight*

Big Counterweight: *falls through the cracked stone*

Astrid: There we go! Now let's have a look! *jumps down*

Rest of Party: *follows*

Whole Bunch of Bandits: *from other side of door* What the fuck?!?

Astrid: Oh. Nuts. Um ... let's make life a teensy bit harder for them. *shoots oil barrel*

Oil Barrel: *empties its contents all over the place*

Gale: IGNIS!

Astrid: *standing at the edge of Oil Zone* Oh nuts...

Oil: *bursts into flames*

Whole Bunch of Bandits; Astrid: OW OW OW OW!

Astarion: *from a shadow somewhere* Oh, wonderful. I suppose we're all at ranged until that burns itself out. *pulls shortbow*

Astrid: *moving out of the flame zone* This could still be useful! Um ... *Hideous Laughter resonance in voice* "An imp from the City of Brass / Came to Waterdeep on a day pass / Got caught doing crime / And was sentenced to time / Five to ten up a hill giant's ass!"

Ranger: *is successfully Hideous Laughter'd and ends up rolling around in the burning puddle of oil, doing significant damage*

Shadowheart; Astarion; Gale: ............................

Astrid: ...Well, Gale went to all the effort to make this lovely little death trap; I didn't want to waste it!

Gale: It was a cantrip, Astrid; no effort required, really.

Astrid: It was very clever and I don't waste clever ideas.

Shadowheart: He set you on fire.

Astrid: He didn't mean it and he's very sorry.

Barbarian Bandit: *slams through puddle of fire; Raging*

Shadowheart: Stab now; ask where Princess Sweetness of Wherever got all the filthy limericks later.

Stabnation: *ensues*

Later, further into the crypt

Gale: Maybe we should drop all these books off at camp. Not that I'm ungrateful, but it's a bit ... cumbersome.

Shadowheart: She's carrying more than you and you're stronger than she is; stop complaining.

Astrid: *halfway to Encumbered* I'm okay! Though I'd probably commit a very minor felony for a Bag of Holding right now... Anyway, you can sell the duplicates so it's fine! Now, let's see ... Shadowheart? You're ... actually chuckling. Should I be concerned?

Shadowheart: You were right, Astrid; this place is very much about death gods. Specifically Jergal. I thought everyone stopped worshipping him when he ceded his position.

Astrid: Huh. Neat. ...Huh. Button, and secret door. Boop! *presses button*

Skeletons: *rise up and start attacking*

Astrid: ...I'd feel a lot worse about this if that hadn't opened the secret door too. But they're just skeletons; this can't be that--

Skeletons: *cast Silence*

Astrid: ...........*mouthing something that looks suspiciously more profane than 'oh nuts'*

Stabnation: *ensues regardless*

Later, in the secret room

Astarion: Ugh. I thought I'd prefer cooler than the spots we've been wandering, but I didn't mean that much. Frostbite really doesn't do it for me.

Astrid: Oh! I can help! Running a little low on spell energy, but now that we have a minute... *Song of Rest; to the tune of Sexual Healing* "And when our limbs lose feeling / We need ... musical healing..."

Hit Points: *restored*

Gale; Shadowheart; Astarion: ...................

Astrid: ...What? Gale, you spent years studying your craft. Shadowheart, you devoted yourself to Shar. Astarion, you have to have worked hard to get as good at stealth and locks as you are. I worked hard too! Just ... mine was music lessons. Also playing in taverns. And ... occasionally brawling in them but I mostly tried to break them up and at least patched up the worst of the bruises please stop looking at me like that.

Shadowheart: *hands over amulet* Here. I think this lets you speak with the dead. Might as well have one more group of people to regale with this kind of story.

Astrid: Aww; thanks! Now, what's in this one?

Withers: *rises up from crypt all ominous* ohai.

Entire Party: ...wut.

Withers: Question for you: what's the worth of a single mortal life?

Entire Party: ...WUT.

Withers: You heard me.

Astrid: Well, technically every life is so distinct and unique that it can never be replicated or replaced to any exact degree - at least not on the soul level because I think you can clone a body with some high-level magic but copying a soul is next to impossible so if we're talking about rarity value--

Withers: I get the picture. We'll speak again soon. I just need time to adjust before I deal with that ... many ... words all at once.

Astrid: Okay. Rest well!

Gale; Shadowheart; Astarion: ...................

Astrid: He seems nice.

Shadowheart: She's nice and everything, but sometimes she really does make my brain hurt.

Astrid: Sorry. Oh, hey, I think I had an idea about how to deal with the traps in that sarcophagus room, and what that button we found does! Let's go check it out!

Astarion: Are you sure saying that in front of ... the ... very dead gentleman over there is entirely wise?

Withers: Meh.

Astarion: Well all right then.

#Thess liveblogs Baldur's Gate 3 #Astrid the Bard #Baldur's Gate 3 spoilers

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